Portable telephone apparatus.



P. F. STRONG. PORTABLE TELEPHONE APPARATUS.

` APPLICATION FILED APR.3, 1905. i

898,699, Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

Il Iliff UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

FREDERICK F. STRONG, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

n PORTABLE TELEPHONE APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

` Patented sept. 15, 190s.

Application mea April 3, 1905. serial No. 253,539.

v vision of means for providing telephone facilities in cases of emergency of temporary need such as for military service, sickness, factory use, construction Work and the like. For example in the case of sickness when a nurse is called to the patients residence, the

nurse is obliged to be absent from the patient more or less and accordingly my invention provides means for enabling the atient to communicate instantly with the nurse Whenever' within reasonable distance. So likewise in constructing a high building, for example, my invention enables the contractor to communicate with his foremen at any floor. To laccomplish this object I provide a boxor. case containing a transmitter and receiver -so constructed that they can be carried conveniently in the pocket, said box or case containing all the necessary signal apparatus, battery etc. In other words, I provide in the small s ace convenient for the ordinary pocket all-t e necessary apparatus for a complete and satisfactory telephone system. 5

Y Tothis end I have devised a single-article device which combines in itself a transmitter and receiver, this single article performing the functions of both a receiver and transmitter, thereby eliminating not only the necessity of two devices, but saving the space,

, Weight and complications of these ltwo usual pieces of apparatus. This feature of m-y invention is claimed in my present application, and the more general features relating to my system are reserved for a copending application.

The constructional details of my invention will be pointed out more at length in the course of the following description, reference bein had to the 'accompanying drawings in Whic I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention and later will be more particularly defined in the appended claims.

In `the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the telephone box and contents opened for use. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my mechanism closed. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the box showing the transmitter and receiver in side elevation.- Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the transmitter-receiver. Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the bell mechanism in side elevation. Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the complete system.

In a box l'of'any desired shape suitable for the purpose, I mount on one side a combined transmitter and receiver 2 and on the other side a battery 3 and bell apparatus 4, each of suitable construction required in order to carry out my invention.

The receiver comprises a cup-shaped shell 5 on which is mounted an electro-magnet in the form of a wooden spool 6, .one terminal 7, of whose winding 8 passes through an insulated bushing 9 to the main line 10 and the other terminal 11 of which is secured' to a carbon disk 12. The core 13 of the electromagnet extends beyond the face of the disk 12 which is rovided with an enlarged aperture 14 for this urpose, out of contact with said core 13, an on the outer face of the disk are a series of hemispherical cavities 15 containing carbon balls 16. Secured to the rim of the shell 5 is a dia' hragm of jap'anned iron, such as is used for erro-type plates, this diaphragm being scraped clean of the japan on its inner side and covered with graphite, and the balls being covered also with graphite for producing sensitiveness of o eration. The pressure of the balls on the dia ragm is very slight, being just sufficient to old them the carbon disk, balls, diaphragm and s ell,

are in series .from one line wire 10 to lthe other line wire 18. The c '-.npartment containin the above described transmitter is centra ly apertured at 20 and provided with a mouth-piece for covered annulus 21 having a central opening 22 in which is suspended an equalizer and sound condenser 23 by any suitable means as by straps 24. This soun'd condenser is concavo-convex in shape having its concave side facing the shell 5 and is provided centrally with a tubular nipple 25 to which is secured a sound transmission tube 26 terminating in an ear-drop 27 for insertion in the ear of the user this construction forming a combined transmitter and receiver, the user talking directly against the mouthpiece. As the sound waves strike the convex side of the device 23 they pass between the annular opening beneath the annulus 21 and reach the receiver dia hragm uniformly approximately opposite t e balls instead of being directed at t e center ofthe diaphragm, thereby producing better results than if the voice were directed against the center of the diaphragm. On the other hand the sound transmitted to the receiver is collected by Ithe concave side' of the device 23 and is transmitted readily by the tube 25, 26, and 27 to the ear.

The box is preferably made of sheet metal or at least the com artment containing the bell is made of thin s eet metal so as to act as a gong for this purpose.

The bell has a special construction shown in detail in Figs. l and 5. Opposite an electro-magnet 28 is a usual armature 29 pivoted on a spring arm 30 and carrying along spring stem 31 bent over the electromagnet and terminating in a striker 32 adj acent the metal 33 of the box 1. The spring arm 30 has a spring 34 carrying a contact 35 to coperate w1th a fixed contact 36 on an insulated post 37 The bell mechanism is connected at one end to a wire 38 and at the other end is connected at 39 to the line wire 18 and is operated in the usual manner.

Adjacent to the bell is a ush button 40 shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6 for operating a switch 41 between contacts 42, 43, said switch being normally in engagement with contact 42. I also provide a similar switch 44 operated automatically however by the openlng and closing of the box, the free end 45 thereofengaging a block 46 when the box is closed and being thereby pressed against contact 47 which connects with wire 38,-when the box is opened the switch 44 springs into engagement with a contact 48 connected to wire 10. A wire 49 connects the contact 42 and the switch 44, and a wire 50 connects from the switch 41 to the battery 51 0f the opposite telephone 52 (see Fig. 6). The battery 3 is connected by a wire 53 to ,the contact 43.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 6

it will be seen that I provide two outfits connected in series with the respective batteries 3, 51, each outfit being exactly similar, the

wire 18 from the transmitter 2 leading directly to the opposite transmitter 52 having interposed therein a push button switch 54 identical with switch 41 and an automatic switch 55 identical with switch 44, for operating a bell mechanism 56 the same as the bell mechanism 4. For convenience I provide a handle 57 preferably pivoted' at 58 on one of the compartments of the box so as to turn down into the osition shown in Fig. 1 for conveniently hoLlding the box in open position, while capable of folding up into the attery compartment when the box is to beclosed. y

In use let it be supposed for the sake of illustration that my mvention is being used in the sick room; the patient has at hand the box and apparatus indicated at 2 Fig. 6, while the ap aratus indicated at 52 is in the hand or poc et of the nurse and the two tele hones are connected by such length of con uctors18 and 50 as are required to accommodate the necessary range of movement of the nurse. Under these circumstances, it matters not where the nurse is, the patient can at any time, sim ly by pressing on the push button 40 ring tllie bell in the box carried by the nurse, the striker of said bell pounding on the box and producing the usual buzzing noise. Thereupon the nurse opens the box and presses the ear tube in his or her ear, the atient meanwhile having done likewise with the instrument 2. Conversation can then take place. Both the atient and the nurse simply talk directly into the left hand compartment of the box which acts both as a transmitter and receiver.

When both boxes are closed, the push button of either box will operate the bell of the opposite box. Upon opening either box the automatic switch cuts the battery into the telephone circuit so as to permit the telephone to o erate.

As alrea y stated my vinvention is adapted to a wide variety of uses, and while I regard its compactness, simplicity and cheapness as its most important features, ada ting it to portable use as stated, yet it wil be understood that my invention is capable of many other uses than those herein mentioned by way of illustration, and that various features of my invention may be employed to advantage inother relations; accordingly I do not intend to limit myself otherwise than as ex ressed in the claims.

aving described my invention, whaty I Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In an apparatus of the kind described, a magnetic shell having central y and integrally secured on its inner side a core, an electro-magnet, winding and supporting spool, a carbon disk secured to the projecting end of said spool, a thin iron dia hragm secured to the rim of said shell in ont of said disk, balls `held in slight engagement with said diaphragm, and held loosely pockets provided therefor in the face of said l disk and circuit wires connected to the shell and to the magnet winding, said winding, disk, balls, diaphragm and shell being in series in the main circuit.

2. In an apparatus of the kind described, a telephone transmitter-receiver, having a sound collector provided with a centrally a ertured sound receiving device leading to tllfe ear mounted within the mouth piece thereof.

3. In an apparatusof the kind described, a telephone transmitter-receiver, having transmitter mechanism provided with anv externally open mouth piece, a sound collector mounted Within the mouth pie`ce thereof, and an ear tube independent of said mouthpiece extending from said sound collector.

l 4. In an apparatus of the kind described,

a telephone transmitter-receiver, having a sound collector mounted within the mouth l piece thereof, said collector having a concave surface facing the instrument, and a tube extending outwardly at the center of said concave surface.

5. In an apparatus of the kind described, a telephone transmitter, and its mouth piece, and a disk mounted centrally within said mouth iece and extending within the inner end ofP the mouth iece to a greater diameter than the latter, eaving an annular opening between said transmitter and said mouth piece, said disk having a convex outer surface for directing the sound to the transmitter.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this speciiication, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK F. STRONG.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. MAXWELL, `M. A. JoNEs. 

